Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr have both apologised for comments they made during the final press conference before their fight on Saturday night.
The pair launched personal attacks at each other, with Eubank the subject of homophobic taunts and Smith the subject of taunts about social class. The rivals have clashed throughout the build-up, disagreeing over past sparring encounters among other verbal exchanges.
During the exchange, Smith said: “Chris, you go on about girls, mate, has anybody in this room ever seen you with a girl? Have you got something to tell us? Because you’re 33. Do you want to tell us something? Because nobody in this room has ever seen you with a woman. Do you have something you want to tell us?”
READ MORE: 'Never had a doubt' - Liam Smith rubbishes claims Chris Eubank Jr has weight advantage
READ MORE: Liam Smith fires back at Chris Eubank Jr and makes blunt Roy Jones appointment point
Eubank Jr hit back at Smith’s comments, saying: “Listen, my private life is my private life. That’s irrelevant to the boxing but I’m happy, I’m comfortable.
“If you want to get dark and personal with it, talking about being gay and do I like girls. I’ve been told by multiple sources that you cheat on your wife on occasion. So, glass houses mate. Let’s just relax on the personal stuff. I’d rather be gay than a cheat.”
But in the aftermath to the event in Manchester, Smith apologised for his comments and said: “We both probably crossed the line with some of the language we said."
Before Eubank said: “Everybody reacts in different ways to getting ready to fight another man. He’s so hell-bent on trying to prove he’s not rattled that he just went off the rails and I had to put him in line.
“We both went there, it got personal, that’s ok. Boxing is personal, fighting another man is one of the most personal things you can do. So, I get it.
“But I’ve always wanted to win this fight by knockout. The fact that Liam is being a child up here, it gives me a bit of extra incentive to embarrass him.”
Promoter Ben Shalom of BOXXER also said: “Tensions were high and the fighters have apologised.”
While Robert Smith, general secretary of the British Boxing Board of Control confirmed on Friday morning that the stewards of the board will be considering the conduct of both boxers.
“The British Boxing Board of Control are aware of the comments made by Liam Smith and Chris Eubank Jr. at yesterday’s press conference, and the Stewards of The Board will be considering the conduct of both boxers directly,” Smith said in a statement.
READ MORE:
